This illustrated crash course on spirits from the beyond will take you through history and around the globe, and look at both the supernatural and scientific side. Are you looking for a new ghost to add to your fiction? Learn about the Gello, the duppy, the preta, La Llorona, the draugr, and more.

Lisa Morton is a six-time Bram Stoker Award winner whose most recent book was GHOSTS: A HAUNTED HISTORY. She lives in Southern California in a house that she wishes was haunted.

Horror and Police Procedure are strange bedfellows. Far too often, Horror authors create situations where the police have to get involved, and then they scramble to get rid of them because they find writing accurate police procedure too daunting. Joe McKinney, who has worked in law enforcement for nearly twenty years, and has served as a patrol officer, a homicide detective, and a patrol supervisor, will walk you through the basics of police procedure. Topics covered include: choosing the right kind of cop for your story; how to create a crime scene; how to structure an investigation; how evidence is handled and tested; and a general question and answer period to help with specific topics of interest to the audience.

Joe McKinney has been a cop for the last fifteen years. In that time, he’s done a little bit of everything. He’s been a regular beat cop, a DWI enforcement officer, a disaster mitigation specialist, a homicide detective, he commanded the City of San Antonio’s 911 Center, and currently works as a patrol supervisor. At the same time, he wrote sixteen novels and three collections of short stories. He has also published more than three hundred articles, interviews and reviews on subjects as varied as the history of San Antonio’s fabled Missions, the evolution of chili, and the continuing relevance of pop culture criticism of the modern horror genre. He is also an accomplished chef who, rumor has it, makes the best batch of chili in the State of Texas. His zombie novels are required reading in several college classes, and he speaks frequently on college campuses about the state of professional writing and the lasting relevance of the Horror genre. McKinney makes regular appearances at conventions and frequently offers his services as a police consultant to fellow writers and film makers. For the latest information on his upcoming releases, check out his Facebook page.

A discussion of the history of the film–book to movie–and its subsequent butchering by the studio and re-release as its intended vision 25 years later. Miller will share inside information on what it took to make this happen and how those experiences relate to the practices of adaptation and screenwriting.

As the Vice President of Seraphim, Mark Alan Miller writes, produces, and directs original content alongside master of horror Clive Barker.

Mark has been working as a writer since 2005 when he started as a columnist for OCWeekly. It was this that landed him the position of assistant editor on Barker’s novel Abarat: Absolute Midnight, for which he also directed the promotional trailer

Since 2009, Miller has been shepherding the release of the director’s cut of Barker’s classic film Nightbreed. After 6 years of Miller’s campaigning, tracking down the footage, and assembling the film, Barker’s long-thought-lost vision will finally be released on Blu-Ray this October by Scream Factory. The project has garnered worldwide interest, and been featured in publications such as Fangoria, Rue Morgue, and Empire magazine, and was recently named Total Film’s 14th best extended cut of all time.

Mark’s work as a producer is not limited to horror, however, and in early 2014 he produced a series of animated shorts with the comedy troupe Superego for Nerdist Channel.

Most recently, he served as editor for Barker’s long-awaited The Scarlet Gospels, which was released in June of 2015, and took home the Saturn Award for best vintage Blu-Ray release for his work on Nightbreed: the Director’s Cut. His writing can be seen in the bestselling Boom! Studios comic books, Hellraiser, Hellraiser: Bestiary, and the critically acclaimed Next Testament.

Writer Anne Serling presents an intimate portrait of her father, Rod Serling. Through a combination of readings, film clips, home movies, and slides, she traces the evolution of his work from the Golden Age of Television to his iconic Twilight Zone and Night Gallery series. Anne also explores the experiences that informed his deep seated concern for humanity and shares what it was like growing up with him, all to reveal the man behind the image.

Before becoming a full time writer, author/poet Anne Serling was an early childhood teacher with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Elmira College. Anne’s poetry has been published in The Cornell Daily Sun and Visions. Her works of prose include: the adaptation of two of her father’s teleplays in the anthology, The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories. She has had articles published in Salon.com, The Huffington Post; appeared on NPR’S Snap Judgment; and most recently her memoir, As I Knew Him: My Dad Rod Serling, won the 2014 Silver Falchion Award for Best Memoir/Biography. Currently she is writing a novel: AFTERSHOCKS. Anne serves on the Board of Directors of the Rod Serling Foundation; is involved with the Binghamton City School District’s elementary school program, The Fifth Dimension; and is co-founder and editor of Rod Serling Books.

WRITING HORROR NONFICTION: A GUIDE FOR PRINT AND MULTIMEDIA – DAVID J. SKAL

Photo courtesy of Brian J. Showers

The public’s bottomless fascination with the dark side in fiction and film also includes a healthy appetite for biographies, books about books, documentaries, and genre criticism. For the past 25 years, David J. Skal has been a leading name in horror nonfiction in several mediums. His books include Hollywood Gothic, The Monster Show, Screams of Reason, V is for Vampire, Death Makes a Holiday and the forthcoming Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker (Liveright, 2016). With Elias Savada, he is co-author of Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, and, with Nina Auerbach, is co-editor of the Norton Critical Edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. For television, he scripted the A&E Biography documentaries on Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney, Jr. Skal has also produced, written and directed ten making-of DVD and Blu-ray documentaries for Universal’s classic monster library, and was additionally the host and narrator for Back to the Black Lagoon and Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters. For Lionsgate/Showtime, he wrote, co-produced and co-directed the behind-the-scenes chronicle of Bill Condon’s Academy Award-winning film God and Monsters. His audio commentaries are included on the special edition releases of Tod Browning’s Dracula (Universal Home Video) and Freaks (Warner Home Video). He has lectured extensively at leading colleges, universities, and cultural institutions in the United States, Canada, and Europe, including the Musee du Louvre, and has taught courses based on his work at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Victoria. He is currently film critic for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Before turning to nonfiction, Skal (an alumnus of the Clarion Writers Workshop in Fantasy and Science Fiction) was the author of three well-received (if unsettling) novels blending science fiction and horror in equal parts: Scavengers, When We Were Good, and Antibodies. In this workshop presentation, he will discuss the similarities and important differences between fiction and nonfiction when pitching books to agents and editors, important considerations for research and interviews, how to effectively use fictional techniques to enhance history, biography, and cultural commentary; and share his experience, insights and advice on markets, contracts, permissions, copyright and changing standards of fair use in selecting quotations and illustrations.

Based on my online class, Guerrilla Fiction Writing, Book to Film is an update and refinement of the concept that good fiction doesn’t have to be adulterated to be movie ready. Humans have been hardwired for story-telling since the first cave man (or woman) told a tall tale in the firelight of pre-history. During the fifty minute seminar, you’ll learn exactly how you’ve been hardwired, the elements of story we take for granted, and strategies for getting the right kind of attention, including how to make better loglines and the importance of elevator pitches.

Weston Ochse Bram Stoker® Winner and Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is the author of more than twenty-five books, including SEAL Team 666 and its sequels Age of Blood and Reign of Evil, which the New York Post called ‘required reading’ and USA Today placed on their ‘New and Notable Lists.’ His most recent science fiction Grunt series has been lauded for its PTSD-positive portrayal. His first novel, Scarecrow Gods, won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel and his short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His work has appeared in comic books, and magazines such as Cemetery Dance and Soldier of Fortune. SEAL Team 666 was optioned by MGM and is in line to star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Weston holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and is also a military veteran with 30 years of military service.

-The importance of doing research
-How to conduct research for your dark novel
-Resources and how to get the most out of them
-How research can assist you in character development and plotting
-Special emphasis on historic research
-Discussion on the importance of reading widely–both in and out of the genre–and viewing films both in and out of the genre

Lisa Mannetti’s debut novel, The Gentling Box, garnered a Bram Stoker Award and she has since been nominated three times for the prestigious award in both the short and long fiction categories: Her story, “Everybody Wins,” was made into a short film and her novella, “Dissolution,” will soon be a feature-length film directed by Paul Leyden. Recent short stories include, “Resurgam” in Zombies: More Recent Dead edited by Paula Guran, and “Almost Everybody Wins,” in Insidious Assassins. Her work, including The Gentling Box, and “1925: A Fall River Halloween” has been translated into Italian.

She has also authored The New Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, two companion novellas in Deathwatch, a macabre gag book, 51 Fiendish Ways to Leave your Lover, as well as non-fiction books, and numerous articles and short stories in newspapers, magazines and anthologies. Recent and forthcoming works include additional short stories and a novella about Houdini, The Box Jumper, from Smart Rhino Publications (September 2015) and a novel about the dial-painter tragedy in the post-WWI era, Radium Girl.
Lisa lives in New York in the 100 year old house she originally grew up in with two wily (mostly) black twin cats named Harry and Theo Houdini. Visit her virtual haunted house: www.thechanceryhouse.com

IN SEARCH OF THE AFTERLIFE – A PARANORMAL JOURNEY – BRIAN PURDY
A realistic look into the different aspects of the often controversial and sometimes batshit crazy life of Paranormal Investigators, as well as the good, bad, and sometimes funny stories experienced by Brian and his team, Elite Vegas Paranormal Society over the years as they’ve searched for answers regarding an existence of a life beyond their own…

Brian Purdy is the Founder of EVPS and a passionate investigator. He works by day as an Interventional Radiology Techologist R.T. (R)(VI) at a local Las Vegas Imaging Center. His compassion for his patients is the same caring and understanding he brings to the field of Paranormal Investigation.

Brian has had many unexplained events occur throughout his life, beginning as a teenager, that have culminated into his Paranormal Society. Paranormal Investigation is his passion in life–this guy eats, drinks, and sleeps the paranormal. With his book IN SEARCH OF THE AFTERLIFE he covers a number of topics both truthful and humorous. His book pulls no punches when it comes to the competitive nature of this field.
Purchase the Presentation Companion book here: http://www.amazon.com/Search-Afterlife-Paranormal-Journey/…/

How many movies and books have used this card to indicate something horrible is about to happen?

The reality is that the Death card is really not a “bad” card at all. There are other cards that can indicate far more dire circumstances for a character to wade through.

Accuracy is often expected in historical aspects of a story and so accuracy should be adhered to with regard to occult symbols and tools as well.

Instead of using the Death card for death, learn what other cards might be a better choice.

Award-winning horror author and professional tarot counselor, Mistress Ariana aka Sèphera Girón discusses how to use metaphysical and occult tools and symbols in horror fiction. Special emphasis is on tarot cards, astrology, numerology, and crystal balls. She will also cover crystals, gemstones, lucky charms, feng shui, ouija boards, witches, and spells.

Sèphera Girón is the author of over twenty published books including House Magic: The Good Witch’s Guide to Bring Grace to Your Space (Conari, 2001) and Love Magic: The Good Witch’s Guide to Healing Your Heart (Scarlett Publishing, 2013) as Ariana and Experiments in Terror (Samhain, 2015). Her books Borrowed Flesh, Eternal Sunset, and her erotic horror series soon to be re-released from RAB publishing, all use witches and elements of the occult. Sèphera has been the Canadian/Ontario/Toronto Chapter Head of the Horror Writers Association for nearly twenty years.She plays a fortune-telling gypsy in Gregory Lamberson’s Killer Rack and a cult leader’s wife in Slime City Massacre. Sèphera has worked as a professional tarot reader for nearly twenty years and uses the names Mistress Ariana, Mistress Scariana, and Madame Something.